Binding apparatus for binding wire around pulp bales are disclosed including a wire magazine, a wire feeder for feeding and stretching the wire, a guide for guiding the wire from the feeder around the pulp bale, a wire cutter and twister for cutting the wire and twisting together the wire ends and a take-up unit for taking up a loop in the wire obtained upon stretching of the wire around the pulp bale, the take-up unit including a take-up space having a pair of walls separated by a distance adapted to accept the wire but insufficient to accept a double strand of the wire, and the short sides of the take-up space separated by a distance adapted to accept a loop of the wire without being folded and the take-up space at one of the short sides including a wire guide space wider than the wire and formed by grooves in at least one of the walls.
1. Apparatus for binding a supply of wire having a predetermined diameter around bales, a feeder for feeding and stretching said supply of wire, a guide for guiding said wire from said feeder around said bale, a wire cutter and twister for cutting said wire and twisting together the ends of said cut wire, and a take-up unit for taking up a loop in said wire obtained upon said stretching of said wire around said bale, said take-up unit comprising a longitudinally extending wire take-up space comprising a pair of long sides formed by a pair of walls and a pair of short sides, said pair of walls being separated by a first predetermined distance adapted to accept said wire having said predetermined diameter but not sufficient to accept a double strand of said wire, said pair of short sides separated by a second predetermined distance adapted to accept a loop of said wire without being folded, said longitudinally extending wire take-up space at one of said pair of short sides comprising a wire guide space which is wider than said first predetermined distance and formed by grooves in at least one of said pair of walls.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wire take-up space has a substantially rectangular shape.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bales comprise pulp bales.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wire magazine comprises a coil of said wire.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wire take-up space has a predetermined length sufficiently long to accommodate a plurality of successive wire loops therein.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said grooves in at least one of said pair of walls has a width approximately equal to said predetermined diameter and a depth of from about 0.5 to 1.5 times said predetermined diameter.